Tag: Holidays

Christmas Program Week

This weekend kicked off Christmas Program week for BG at dance, starting with ballet. It is crowded and sometimes not easy to see because of that, but I love these programs. They are smaller and more intimate than the huge end of year recital. This year was even more interesting as BG had her boyfriend show up which made her a bit of a nervous wreck. We spent nearly the entire program, BG and I, making eye contact and faces at each other. Me, mostly to help her relax and have fun. There were a couple of times where the expression on her face was priceless as she was trying so damn hard not to laugh. It was perfect and she was beautiful as always.

Continue reading “Christmas Program Week”

This Year’s Nutcracker

I have been getting at least one nutcracker a year since I was 16. When Hubby and I got together, he took over the tradition. A few years back, he started giving them to me on the day we decorate instead of on Christmas so that I’d be able to have it out for the whole season. He always tries to theme them, using something we have done over the year to create that theme. The year we fixed our chimney (finally), I got a chimney sweep. The year we took a vacation to the mountains, I got a hiker. This year, he used the massive home improvements with the windows and the new HVAC and went with a Cozy Santa, bringing my count up to 41 if you count the two giant ones I made last year. I have such a huge variety, in both size and style. They range from uber traditional to kinda insanely wacky. I absolutely adore my nutcrackers and my kids love seeing them get unpacked every year. BG is even talking about wanting to start her own tradition and collection. It is a tradition I’m seriously considering starting for her.

Frosty Leaf

Today is decorating day. Normally that means both inside and out, but we got the out done early because they were predicting crappy weather. It is kinda funny how insane my kids are about this tradition. They have been talking about it for weeks and bounced off the walls when they got up this morning. So much so, you would have thought it was actually Christmas morning instead. Time to get my sparkle on!

Happy Thanksgiving

Today I will sit down with my family and enjoy a meal I spent hours working on. It isn’t something I begrudge because it is one of the ways I get to show how much I care about them. We are all healthy. We are all safe. We are all happy and loved. For that, I am grateful for so many cannot say the same. I am also incredibly grateful to know that my good friend and her family are also safe after having been evacuated from their home because of the fires in California. They still have a home and a job to get back to. They are some of the more fortunate ones. They may not be as happy or feel as safe today because their lives are still turned upside down, but they are safe. They are healthy. They are still here and the world is a better place because of that.  So today I am grateful for so many things but it is with the heaviness of knowing that so many others aren’t so fortunate today.

 

Bring On The Scary

This will probably be the first year ever that I won’t be carving a pumpkin for Halloween. We have always gone all out for Halloween with a full on haunted garage and everything and the pumpkins have always been a huge part of that. It is something I adore doing and usually put a crap ton of work into, but this year, I do not have the motivation. At all. Continue reading “Bring On The Scary”